Shepherd man charged with molesting Bay City teen in 2005

BAY CITY, MI — A Shepherd man has been charged with molesting a Bay City girl, a crime prosecutors say he committed almost eight years ago.

Bay County Chief District Judge Timothy J. Kelly on Friday, Jan. 4, arraigned Joseph R. Schupback, 32, on single counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim younger than 13 and accosting a minor for immoral purposes. Both charges are felonies, with the former punishable by up to 15 years in prison and the latter carrying a four-year maximum.

Second-degree criminal sexual conduct does not involve penetration and is limited to touching.

Michigan’s statute of limitations for the majority of sexual offenses mandates a suspect must be charged within 10 years of the crime or by the alleged victim’s 21st birthday, whichever is later.

According to court records, the Department of Human Services on April 19, 2012, contacted the Bay City Police Department regarding a sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl that had occurred several years before. Interviewed by staff at the Nathan Weidner Children’s Advocacy Center, the teen said that when she was 10 in 2005, Schupback was living with her family on Bay City’s West Side.

On multiple occasions, the teen said, Schupback would come into her bedroom and ask to see her privates, something she refused. He also exposed his own genitalia, the teen said.

One time, Schupback pulled the girl’s pants down and touched her, she said.

The teen told the forensic interviewer that she initially claimed a younger male had touched her, but said she lied about it for fear her father would beat up the actual abuser.

Police interviewed Schupback in July. He said he always got along well with the girl and that she was lying in her accusations against him. He added that he was molested himself as a child, court records show.

Kelly set Schupback’s bond at $25,000 cash-surety. The judge also scheduled Schupback to appear for a preliminary examination at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17.